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History
Tibet is claimed by and occupied by China. Should it be considered
a Chinese colony?
It is an area largely inhabited by people of different culture
to the Chinese. The main religion is the Tibetan version of Buddhism.
The language is distinct from Chinese. The affinities are with
Mongolia and Burma
rather than with China. The form of Buddhism practiced probably
came from Afghanistan, after the
Muslim conversion in the 7th century when the monks migrated
eastward.
The constitutional and international status is disputed and
ambiguous. According to Tibetans, before 1950 Tibet had never
been directly ruled by the Chinese.
Before 1642 Tibet had kings and had been an important political
and military power in Central Asia. From 1642 until 1950 it was
ruled by the lamas (monks) of the many Buddhist monasteries.
The chief monk was known as the Dalai Lama (Oceanwide or Universal
Lama), the head of the Yellow Hat sect of Buddhist monks. The
first Dalai Lama was appointed by the ruler of Mongolia, Altan
Khan, in 1578. Perhaps though he was an imitation or recreation
of the kings of Bamian (Afghanistan) who became Muslim. From
1642 the Dalai Lama took over the powers of the state. He was
a ruler rather like the Pope before 1870, who, as well as ruling
the church, was also the ruler of a state in Italy.
According to their religion (which included the idea of transmigration
of souls), when a Dalai Lama died his spirit went into a new-born
child. The monks therefore would search the country for a child
born at the moment of his death. They usually waited for about
five years. When they had found a suitable child he was brought
to Lhasa and educated to be the new ruler. This was a rather
unusual method of choosing a ruler but not all that ancient -
the British and Japanese monarchies are much older. Other, lesser,
rulers of monasteries, such as the Panchen Lama, the most recent
of whom died in 1989, were chosen in the same way.
This method of choosing a new ruler might be slightly superior
to hereditary succession by the eldest son as was practiced in
Europe. The theory of transmigration (also believed in by Hindus
and by Pythagoras) does not have to be true in order to practice
this method. The main effect of the method is that the ruler
is educated to rule and the monks can choose someone with the
character they want. There were political aspects to the choosing
of the Dalai Lama. This is illustrated by the fact that the fourth
Dalai Lama was a child of the Mongolian Royal family, who were
politically dominant in the area at the time. The office seems
less mysterious if we realize that it was a political position
which could be subject to the usual political influences.
China invaded in 1950. The Dalai Lama left in 1959 after fighting
broke out. He has lived in exile since then at Dharamsala in
India. He heads a Government in exile which is intended to have
a democratic form as he prefers to concentrate on his religious
functions rather than his political role.
China claims that Tibet is a historic part of the Chinese
empire and that during the 19th century when China was weak Tibet
was only temporarily not under control. Modern Tibetans claim
that they have never recognized China as an overlord. However,
the Manchu emperors claimed overlordship from about 1717 and
kept a garrison in Lhasa until 1792 when Chinese troops helped
the Tibetans drive out Nepalese troops (Gurkhas). After this
Tibet received no help or interference from China until 1910.
In 1904 there was a treaty between Britain and Tibet after
a British invasion had caused the then Dalai Lama to flee to
China but in 1906 a treaty between China and Britain recognized
Chinese suzerainty. In 1910 the Chinese invaded Tibet for the
first time since 1792 and the Dalai Lama fled to India. The Tibetans
declared independence in 1911 following the Chinese revolution.
From then until 1950 there was no Chinese authority in Tibet.
In 1950 the Tibetan government appealed to the United Nations
when China invaded but no help came because Britain, India and
the United States moved in the Security Council to "defer"
consideration. A UN General Assembly resolution 1723 in 1961
called for the restoration of Tibet's right to self-determination.
All the signs are that Tibetans do not want to be ruled by the
Chinese. There have been reports of demonstrations and Chinese
brutality and massacres.
Large numbers of Chinese settlers have been moved to the country
so that, for example, Tibetans are a minority in Lhasa. The eastern
provinces have been annexed by China. The rest of the country
is officially an Autonomous Region, but is what the British Empire
called a Colony or Protectorate.
Tibet's best chance of independence would come if the regime
in China collapsed. How likely is this? Wait and see.
The real affinity of Tibet is not with China but with Mongolia
where the same Buddhist religion is followed. After the ending
of Communism, religion has revived and the Dalai Lama has visited.
There are also peoples recognizing the Dalai Lama in Tuva, Kalmyckia
and Buryat, republics of Russia. There are pockets of Tibetan
culture in Nepal, such as the kingdom of Mustang.
There are some signs that the settler Chinese are mainly there
for the money and might well leave if Tibet becomes independent
(and the Chinese regime collapses).
(Tibetan magic is almost certainly a figment of the imagination
of writers such as Henry Hoskin a.k.a. T.Lobsang
Rampa who have not been there.)
Useful article by Prahag Khanna on the history of Chinese policy in Central Asia.
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